Area rugs such as Oriental rugs have been in use in homes and offices for many years but the use of padding under these rugs to reduce shock in walking over the rugs is of relatively recent origin. It is now a common practice to lay Oriental rugs over wall-to-wall carpeting or large area carpeting that does not extend from wall to wall. The Oriental rug used in this fashion provides a special aesthetic decoration in a smaller area over the larger area of carpeting. Because many carpeting materials today are made of nylon or other synthetic fibers, it has been found that the Oriental rug laid over the nylon carpeting may not remain in the desired area after a period of usage because the Oriental rug tends to slip on the nylon carpeting. Accordingly, an underlay is needed to prevent such slippage.
The general structure of the overlay in copending application Ser. No. 451,012 filed Dec. 20, 1982, is admirably suited for the purposes of the present invention except for the layer which would contact the nylon carpeting. That layer has been modified to provide the properties needed for purposes of this invention.
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel rug underlay having nonslip characteristics when placed on top of carpeting. It is another object of this invention to provide a rug underlay of fibrous material having a uniform consistency, no unpleasant odor, and a clean appearance. It is still another object of this invention to provide a rug underlay having upper surface that grips the rug above it and a lower surface that does not slip on carpeting made from synthetic fiber materials. Still other objects will be apparent from a more detailed description of this invention which follows.